The Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary reports that “Republicans won a pair of special elections on Tuesday in Tennessee and Oklahoma, picking up seats held by Democrats for decades. Combined with this month's capture of the Albuquerque mayor's office by a Republican for the first time in 28 years, Democrats have reason to be nervous about the approaching November 3 off-year elections. Given their lackluster performance in these races, they could face serious turnout problems that will boost GOP performance."
One of the Democratic losers quoted in the piece blamed his defeat on the fact that "a lot of people based their opinions on national issues . . . the health care issue was the main one."
CBN News Political Editor John Waage tells me “The thing that's striking is that Republicans are winning seats that Democrats have held for decades. They're also winning with 56 percent of the vote. Too soon to say if it's a trend, but if it continues into November, next year is likely to be a "wave" election
Pundit George Will asked today, “Could a Wave Be Building?" Uh, do you think? Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, seeking a sixth term, has an approval rating of just 43 percent. Nevada's Harry Reid, the Majority Leader, is below 40. Some think Republican Mike Castle will win Joe Biden’s Delaware senate seat. In Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln trails all four of her Republican challengers. And Donald Lambro at the Washington Times thinks "even Mr. Obama's old Senate seat is at risk in heavily Democratic Illinois."
The congressional approval ratings for both parties are in the cellar. But on the question of which party Americans want to run congress, the Democratic lead has been trimmed from 9 percentage points to 3.
Waage says, “If the GOP candidates win in New Jersey and Virginia this November, and especially if Republicans make big gains in the New Jersey State Assembly, it's probably an indicator that voters are expressing their anger against the Dems' excesses.“
And the political ground could really shake next year.
Of course, if the Republican Party had somehow stayed true to the principles of limited government during the big spending Bush years, instead of turning into Fabian Socialists, next fall would be even more interesting. As it is, a lot of Americans now curse both parties.